


In The Woods Somewhere

by orphan_account



Series: When The World Is Against Us [1]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Death Eaters, Evil Dumbledore, M/M, Song fic, horcrux, possible gore warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:49:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22996480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When you're fighting against someone you thought you could trust, the possibility of your own death, and an upcoming war, things are bound to be difficult. Though, when you mix in love, everything either becomes much more complicated, or much easier.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Series: When The World Is Against Us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688299
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36





	In The Woods Somewhere

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This fic does not contain smut, however, it does contain a lot of profanity, and mild mentions of violence and abuse. This will include injuries and descriptions of fighting, and some topics may be triggering to readers. PLEASE READ THIS FIC ONLY IF YOU KNOW YOU WILL NOT BE TRIGGERED BY ANY OF THE CONTENT!!!  
> Based on the song In The Woods Somewhere by Hozier.  
> Large spaces in text or paragraphs indicate a changing of time or setting.

”Harry, talk to me. Please, Harry. Just open your eyes, please, Harry. GODDAMNIT POTTER WAKE UP!”, Draco sobbed, his heart beating much more quickly than he thought possible. He slapped Harry Potter for the third time in a row, hoping to Merlin that he would finally stir, but it was unsuccessful. At least he had a pulse. He was still alive. That was comfort enough, for the moment, at least. 

Draco clumsily forced himself to stand up, leaning against a tree in an attempt to steady himself. The wet bark scraped harshly against his exposed skin. He hoisted Harry up off of the soaking forest floor as carefully as he could in his distraught state and began to drag him to a safer, dryer patch of land. He let go of Potter and watched him thud against the grass and fallen leaves before assuming his previous position, crouching beside him and just watching him breathe while he kept two fingers placed gingerly upon his neck.

Draco continued to sob. He blamed himself for all of...whatever the hell this was. Actually, this _was_ hell, or at least it felt like it. The two of them were stuck in the middle of a forest, Dumbledore having abruptly turned on them for the sake of saving his own arse.

He abruptly shook his head, he didn't have time to think about why exactly they were here because Potter was hurt and he still wasn't fucking waking up and on top of that the both of them were bleeding with nothing in sight to stem the blood flow, let alone sterilize their wounds. 

He hastily tore off a chunk of his destroyed Slytherin robes and tightly wrapped the fabric around Harry's forearm, which bore the deepest gash. The fabric was covered in maroon, sticky blood within minutes. Draco gasped, pulling the fabric tighter and struggling to rip off another strip of fabric to wrap around the cut. There was not much more he was capable of doing. His wand was gone, or at least he wasn't in the right state to properly search for it, and Harry's was missing as well. In his concentration, Draco stopped crying for the moment. He forced all thoughts from his head and set his entire being upon making sure Harry's heart didn't stop beating. 

The two of them had been in a fight with a group of death eaters. Sparks had been flying everywhere, and dark magic had filled the atmosphere. Nevertheless, Draco fought tooth and nail to protect Harry Potter. This wasn't necessarily something he envisioned himself doing, but he also hadn't exactly envisioned Albus fucking Dumbledore screwing over his entire side of the war through his own cowardice, so, he couldn't really rely on his previous ideas of reality. 

"Potter...Jesus Christ where the fuck were Weasel and Granger? We could've really used your dumbass friends a minute ago," Draco mumbled to himself angrily, still applying pressure to Harry's wound. He then began to silently tend to the rest of Potter's injuries, including a forming bruise on his forehead. 

Once he had finally finished tending to Potter, Draco slumped against the nearest tree and began to cry again, finally letting all of his feelings fully wash over him. He was ashamed and angry, mostly at himself. He was confused and had no clue what he did to deserve this fate. 

Dumbledore had known that Draco was only a boy and that he was being subjected to far more than one should ever be subjected to yet, he'd gotten scared when Draco had attempted to complete his mission given by You-Know-Who and joined the dark side. He gave You-Know-Who Harry Potter's location, which led to him being hunted down during school hours by a group of Death Eaters, and Draco had gotten caught in the middle of it all. He couldn't just stand there and watch as someone he had grown to care about quite a bit be mercilessly killed by a raging madman right in front of him, so he started spouting out curses as quickly as possible before snatching Harry by the arm and apparating them to this fucking forest.

This memory only made Draco cry harder. He thought he'd been sobbing badly before, but this was much worse. 

Thirty minutes went by with no stir from Harry, the only sounds occupying the forest being the heart-wrenching sobs still coming from Draco and the occasional song of a bird. Then, there was a rustling from beside Draco, and he jumped. 

"Mmmm...whe-where-"

"Potter! Oh, thank Merlin, Potter!"

Without thinking, Draco hastily flung himself across Potter, enveloping him in his slender arms. Harry let out an 'oomph' upon the impact but did not resist. This may have been because he was disorientated and in pain, but Draco very much liked to imagine that this was because Harry enjoyed being embraced by him. 

"M-Malfoy? What...where the fuck-"

"We're in a forest, I apparated us here. Don't move too much, you're hurt. Lay back down, I don't want you giving yourself much more of a headache than you'll already end up with once that bruise starts to ache more," Draco fussed, releasing his companion and checking to make sure the strips of cloth that he'd tied around Harry's arm hadn't come loose.

Harry obeyed, laying back down and setting his head on the soft grass. He tenderly looked up at Draco, tiredness in his eyes. 

"Have you been crying? Your eyes are red."

"No, Potter. I haven't been crying. Do you take me as weak?"

"I'm not calling you weak. Shit, my arm hurts. Is that your robe?"

"Yes, you could've bled out if I didn't wrap it. You were losing a lot of blood and the gash was pretty big. I would've fixed it with magic but I couldn't find my wand. I couldn't find yours either."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco, immediately wincing and taking in a sharp breath as his bruise ached deeply, "Couldn't you have done it wandlessly?"

Draco stared blankly at the blue sky above, not letting any of his emotions show, "We're not all as talented at you, besides, I would have been far too distraught to properly perform a spell even if I could do it wandlessly. You're lucky I even remembered how to lessen the bleeding."

There they sat in silence, neither of them making a sound or attempting to speak to the other. They were both in need of a moment to think and ground themselves. Draco couldn't help but wonder if he should've told Potter the truth about how he felt, yet he couldn't seem to picture himself actually doing so. He needed to be strong and straight-faced because Malfoys didn't show fear or sadness or anything but stone-cold apathy for that matter. 

Draco woke again a multitude of hours later with the weight of Harry Potter's arm across his chest. 

The sky was a solid sheet of black. No stars littered the sky, though Draco could see a sliver of the moon through the trees looming over his body, which felt awfully small to him at this moment. He could hear Potter's breath catch as his arm slid off of Draco's chest abruptly. His eyelashes fluttered, but he did not stir. 

Draco took a second to just stare and watch as Potter slept. He looked completely peaceful and he seemed to have no worries. Draco longed to have that, even though he was well aware Potter must be just as confused and panicked as he was and that this was all an illusion created by sleep. Draco tenderly took hold of Harry's arm and placed it back on his chest as he fully relaxed back onto the grass. He snuggled closer to him and sleepily covered the two of them with the remainders of his robes.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall back into the loving embrace of rest. 

Another hour passed before Draco gave up on restlessly tossing and turning in a fruitless attempt to fall asleep again. He sat up with a groan, Potter's arm sliding off of his chest for the second time that night, and raised himself to his feet. He swayed as brightly colored spots invaded his line of vision. He was incredibly dizzy. Draco fell to his knees and another groan escaped his lips as a migraine came over him. 

"Fuck," He murmured to himself.

As he sat there in silence, Harry still asleep beside him, angry thoughts filled his mind. He still didn't understand why him of all people. Why did he have to care about Potter so fucking much, why did this have to be his life from now on, and why was he so scared to let Potter see this side of him? The emotional side who cried and thrashed and so desperately wanted to scream out loud.

Not much time had passed before Harry woke and groggily sat up, jumping at the sight of the blonde. "Oh, right. You're here," He mumbled.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?", Draco asked harshly.

Harry winced and ran a hand down his face roughly. It was clear to Draco that his sentence had cut deeper than he thought it would, "Sorry," He added quickly.

Harry felt around on the ground surrounding him, frowning when he came up empty-handed, "Still haven't found our wands?"

Draco sighed, "No. I haven't even been looking for them, honestly. I was trying to fall back asleep but now both of us are awake so I suppose we could start looking."

Harry seemed deep in thought for a moment before he finally looked straight forward, seemingly very focused.

"Accio wands."

Nothing came shooting through the air. No wand rushed into Harry's hand. Still, something rustled and Harry's face lit up, "Lumos!", he exclaimed and then suddenly there was a dim light coming from beneath the fallen leaves about ten feet away. Harry jumped up, giving Draco no time to react, and bolted off toward the newly lit square of dirt. He dug excitedly in the crunchy leaves for a minute or two before finally unearthing a brown stick, the end of which was glowing. He held his wand up high, a beaming smile on his face, and sprinted back over to Draco. 

Harry plopped himself down just across from Draco and twirled his wand in between his fingers before his smile began to fade.

"We still haven't found your wand."

Draco shrugged, "I know, but at least we have yours now."

"Malfoy...oh well, you're right. It's better than nothing."

"Harry, if you can do wandless magic, why were you so keen on finding our wands?"

"The twin cores."

Draco raised an eyebrow at his companion, "Would you like to expand on that?"

"Our cores, mine and Voldemort's _._ They came from the same phoenix. Our wands have a special connection, a bond. I've kind of been relying on that bond to help me defeat him. I can't do that wandlessly, or at least I don't think I can."

Draco stared at him for a long moment, thinking silently. He drew in a long breath.   
  
“Are you sure you can defeat him even with the help of the...twin cores?”

Harry stared back at Draco blankly, his lips twisting into a frown that pulled ruthlessly at Draco’s heartstrings.

”What’s that supposed to mean?”

”He’s got Dumbledore on his side now. We would have both died back there if I hadn’t apparated us out. Eventually, you’ll have to fight him one on one. Are you sure your wand will be able to get you out alive?”

Harry’s face drooped even more than it had previously done. He looked as though he was about to cry. Draco felt that tug at his heartstrings once more. He cursed himself, wishing he would have never spoken.

Almost three days had passed since Draco's confrontation with Harry about his reliance on the twin cores. He still felt incredibly guilty, though Harry seemed to be completely unbothered. He was sprawled out on the grass, staring upward longingly toward the clear blue sky. The weather was the nicest it had been since the two of them had arrived in the forest. 

"We need firewood," Draco blurted, interrupting the blanket of peace that had enveloped the two of them. Harry propped himself up on his elbows, staring at the blonde with wide emerald eyes.

"Go get some, then."

"Why can't you do it?"

"I'm still the more injured out of the two of us, in case you haven't noticed."

Draco exhaled, clicking his tongue in reconciliation. He couldn't argue with Harry this time. He started off through the trees, weaving his way through their path gracefully. He deeply hoped that he would be able to find a good, dry log, as he had not come prepared with a sharp object or his wand (which was still lost).

He did not know how much time had passed in reality, but it seemed like it had taken an hour or so to find a log fit to make a good fire.

As he was lifting the wood, preparing himself to drag it back through the trees, he was interrupted by a loud, guttural, terrifying scream. It was the scream of someone who was in utter agony. He dropped the wood, frantically looking around himself. As soon as he discovered that he was rather alone in this part of the woods, the scream sounded once more. It was Harry, Draco knew it. He wasn't sure how he knew this, maybe it was just him being paranoid, but he was absolutely sure that these sounds had come from Harry.

He set off in a run (he'd done far too much running for his own good since the two of them had gotten into this mess) and attempted to retrace his path. He had to reroute about four times, but he finally came back into the clearing where he had been sleeping. There lay Harry, shaking and pale. He was face flat on the earth. 

Draco carefully looked him over and then flipped him onto his back. He took his hand in his and looked Harry in the eyes, which had begun to flutter open. He looked incredibly panicked and confused. 

"Why were you screaming? What happened?", Draco asked, just as panicked (He'd also done far too much panicking since the two of them had gotten into this mess).

Harry stared up at him, breathing heavily. 

"He knows. He knows we're here. I don't know how, but he knows and he's looking for us and he's going to kill you and it's my fault," Harry said frantically, his eyes filling to the brim with tears. 

"What are you rambling on about?"

"Dumbledore told me to block it out, he tried to hard to teach me, but I can't."

"Harry, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Voldemort and I. We can see into each other's eyes, or minds, or something like that. He's angry. I just saw into what he's seeing. He knows where we are. Draco, we need to leave. You need to leave. Right now, or very soon, at least."

Draco had to let himself drink all of this in. All the while, Harry's eyes swam over him. He was panicking more than ever.

"Listen, Harry. I don't know how he's found us, and I don't know why I trust you, but I do. So, grab your damned wand and anything else you feel the need to travel with. We're apparating out of here.”

Harry quickly scrambled up off of the forest floor, grabbing Draco's palm and looking into his grey eyes eagerly, "I have nothing to grab. My wand is in my back pocket." 

Draco nodded before he turned on the spot and apparated them to the Malfoy Manor. The peacocks stood outside, wandering in the yard. The manor looked oddly unattended to. His parents had abandoned the home a year ago when Draco was in his fifth year at Hogwarts, in order to escape the living hell that the two of them had put themselves in. Draco no longer knew the whereabouts of his parents, or if they were even alive, but he couldn't bring himself to care all too much. 

His parents had joined the Death Eaters, attempted to force him into it as well, before regretting everything and fleeing. Draco had lost all respect for them since then. His parents did the exact opposite of what Dumbledore had done. 

Harry winced, turning to Draco with an apprehensive look, "Why are we here?"

"It's safe, I promise. Just trust me. They left a long time ago, and the protective charms are still up and strong. He can't find us if we stay at the manor."

Harry was still reluctant, but he allowed himself to be led into the large building anyway. Once they made their way through the front door and into the first, impossibly large room, Harry's worried melted away. The magic around them was so strong that Harry could almost feel it in his bones. He turned around in a circle, staring at his surroundings with wide eyes. Draco couldn't help but stare at him. He felt something flutter and twist in his stomach. He didn't like that feeling very much, it made him feel far too vulnerable.

Draco forced his eyes away, clearing his throat loudly. The sparkle in Harry's eyes dimmed as he was drawn out of his own head. He stopped spinning, turning back to look at Draco. 

Draco started off into the next room of the manor. It was just as huge and just as striking as the room before, and Harry had to stop himself from repeating his actions from the first room. He turned to Draco and hugged him, making him jump out of surprise. Draco relaxed after a moment and allowed himself to sink into Harry's arms as he listened to his murmured, "Thanks, Malfoy."

That twisting feeling was back in the pit of his stomach, and he liked it just as little as he had before. He softly pushed Harry away from his body by the chest (which, Draco noted, was impeccably chiseled). He softly grabbed the brass door handle nearest to him and twisted it, pushing the brown door open with ease. His bedroom was dank and dusty. It smelled of mold and rainwater. "Sorry, I know it smells like shit."

"I think it isn't too bad. It's better than the bloody forest."

Draco shrugged as he sat down on his old bed which boasted Slytherin green sheets and grey pillows. The headboard sported engravings of snakes and scratches from the many years of Draco rebelling against his parents in any way possible, no matter how small. He vaguely remembered stealing his father's pocket knife as a child and cutting away at a pair of shoes he had been forced to wear to a gala. Those shoes were far too small and uncomfortable for an eight-year-old boy to put up with for more than five seconds at a time.

He giggled.

"What is it?", Harry inquired, lifting an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing. Just memories."

Harry sat down on the bed beside him, dust flying up out of the covers and around the room as his weight pushed down on the mattress. 

"You were raised here?"

"Tolerated."

When Harry shot Draco a confused expression, he elaborated.

"My parents, my father at least. He never raised me, I was just put up with. They had me to continue the family line, not because they wanted children. As soon as I started showing signs of my own personality, well a personality that wasn't completely hateful and cruel all of the time, I began to spend most of my days locked up in this room."

Recognition dawned on Harry. He finally understood why Draco had always seemed so closed up and pompous. He wasn't a prat, he was raised by one. Harry knew exactly how that felt.

"They kept me in a cupboard," Draco's eyes widened, but Harry shushed him before he could say anything, "My aunt and uncle knew I was magic. They knew my parents were too, and they hated that. They always told me I was a freak, but never told me why, and I was led to believe that my parents died in a car crash. Essentially, I was brought up as their slave. So, my bedroom was the cupboard underneath the stairs because I didn't deserve a real bedroom. When the Weasley's basically adopted me, I was so worried I'd get treated the same way by Arthur and Molly. Then, I learned that what they did to me wasn't normal, and definitely wasn't a universal experience. What I'm trying to say is, I get what you mean and I'm here for you if you ever want to talk about it."

By this point, tears were streaming down both Harry's and Draco's cheeks. Without thinking about it, Draco scooted closer to Harry and rested his blonde head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around the small of his back. The two of them lied down together on the bed, closing their eyes and snuggling up closer to each other as they both finally learned what it meant to be understood completely by someone else.

"What are you doing?"

The two of them sat up, and Harry jumped up with his wand held out in front of him. He stared hard at the woman who stood before him, her hands high in the air.

"Jesus Christ, I'm not here to hurt you. I've been staying here for about a month now."

"Why the hell are you in here, and how did you get in? The wards should stop anyone from entering unless they're a Malfoy, or accompanied by one," Draco piped up from the bed.

"I am a Malfoy, well, not exactly but I'm in the family tree. I'm your mother's sister."

"Andromeda?"

"You're Sirius's cousin," Harry stated. He knew it sounded more like a question, but he also knew that it was a fact. Sirius had called Andromeda his favorite cousin before he had died.

Draco stood up and walked toward Andromeda and embraced her without hesitation.

"I didn't expect that of you, Draco," His aunt said, taken aback.

"Well, if my mother and father don't like you, then I do. Besides, Harry seems to know who you are and he hasn't tried to disarm you yet."

Harry shot Draco a glare, which felt odd, as Draco was usually the one glaring at _him,_ "I wasn't planning on disarming her."

"You seem to disarm everyone else," Draco muttered with a grin. Harry rolled his eyes, but his glare faded.

Andromeda cleared her throat and looked the two of them over.

"By the way, did I interrupt something when I came in here?"

She shot them a playful smile, which caused Draco to blush profusely. Harry didn't catch on to what the two of them were talking about.

"No, we were just...talking," Harry said, not meeting Andromeda's eyes. Draco wrapped his arm around Harry once more and led him out of the bedroom, past Andromeda. She walked behind the two of them, "Are you two hungry?"

Draco glanced at Harry, who nodded hastily. Draco himself hadn't had much time to think about whether or not he was hungry, being busy keeping the two of them alive and all, but he turned to his aunt and nodded anyway. 

She walked the two of them through several hallways. When they reached the kitchen, she ushered the boys into two seats next to each other at the long black table in the center of the kitchen. They plopped down obediently and watched as Andromeda raided the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out several ingredients to make their dinner and began pulling out pots and pans from the stained-glass cupboards that were displayed around the room.

"So, why are you here exactly?"

Andromeda continued preparing dinner as she sighed, then began to speak.

"They searched the house and took Ted. It's because we're part of the Order. I came to this manor because I thought it would be safe, with the charms and all. I assume that's why you two showed up as well. Harry, they're looking for you, and they think that the Order is trying to hide you."

Harry's face dropped. He stared at Draco with wide eyes, who tenderly squeezed his hand.

"Has anyone died?"

"No, not yet."

"What do you mean 'not yet'? How many people have they hurt because of me-"

"Harry, don't worry about it. The Weasley's are safe, I know you're probably worried about them. Mad-Eye won't crack if they find him, which I doubt they will. You know how he is. Mundungus though...actually, he's too thick to tell them anything actually useful, and if he does manage to do that we'll deal with it. Just enjoy your dinner and try to get a good night's sleep later. You look like you've been put the wringer, both of you."

By this point, Harry was pale and clinging onto Draco's hand so tightly it hurt. He dropped it suddenly as Andromeda spun around and set a bowl of rice and grilled chicken in front of both of them.

"That was quick," Draco remarked, trying desperately to lighten the dark mood.

Andromeda chuckled, and Harry relaxed slightly, though he was still replaying the conversation over in his head a thousand times. 

"Well, I did use magic. My mother taught me how when I was still in my school years. Nasty woman, but she could cook, and she was a rather talented witch."

Both Draco and Andromeda began to eat their dinner, but Harry continued staring at his food and thinking. Draco nudged him with his foot. 

"Eat your food, Harry. I know you're hungry, you told me you were. Don't worry too much, everyone will be okay."

"You don't know that," Harry murmured dully, still, he reached for his fork and began stabbing at bits of food. Draco stared at him solemnly. From across the table, Andromeda smiled, unbeknownst to the two teenagers, she could see something that they could not yet see and it was beautiful.

That night, after Andromeda had sent them both back to the bedroom and washed their dishes, Harry sat on the floor with his knees between his arms. Draco sat on the bed, caressing his back gently. "I promise, it's going to be okay, Harry. You can't worry about what you don't know."

Harry turned to Draco, tears glistening in the rims of his emerald green eyes. He shook his head, "I do know, Draco. He'll find me, and when he does he'll kill me and you and anyone else who stands in his way. Before he finds me, he'll murder everyone who doesn't know where I am, or does and won't tell him. People are going to die, and it's my fault."

"How is it your fault, Harry? You can't help what happened fifteen years ago. You didn't write the prophecy, and you certainly didn't ask for this."

He let go of a breath that he'd be holding and hoisted himself up onto the bed to sit next to Draco, who wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders and pulled him close. 

"I might be a git, and I never thought I'd be sitting here consoling you, but I have enough sense to know that you're worrying about this far too much. We don't know what will happen for sure, and I feel like I've said that a thousand times, but you won't listen, so I have to keep saying it until you do."

"I appreciate this, Draco. I appreciate you. Why didn't you leave? You could've run away and left me in the forest. You could have joined the death eaters, hell, that seems like a popular thing to do these days. So, why did you decide to stay?"

"Harry, I care about you far more than I ever thought I would. I never truly hated you, honestly. I've wanted to be closer to you for so long, but I knew that everyone I had an existing relationship with would shun me for that. I never wanted to be mean to you. I'm not trying to make excuses, I know that what I did was terrible and I regret almost everything I've ever said to you in the time we've known each other, but I will never regret telling you that I care about you and that I have for far longer than you could possibly imagine."

Harry grinned and stared at Draco's hand, which he longed to hold again. He did not take the pale hand into his, however, because something was stopping him. He didn't know why, but the thought of holding Draco's hand felt too intimate and made him squirm, and somehow made more nervous than he already was. Instead. he drew away from Draco's body and rolled over, pulling himself under the covers and beckoning Draco to join him, which he did. 

"I want to just lay here. I haven't slept in a bed in too long."

Draco chuckled. He wanted to lie down somewhere comfortable and drift off just as much as Harry seemed to, so he didn't bother protesting. The two of them lied there, breathing deeply in the darkness next to one another until they finally began to feel the gnawing claws of sleep pull at them. They both gave in, and by the time they woke again in the morning, they were wrapped around each other like a married couple. Neither of them found that they minded it much, but Draco felt the familiar (and still unpleasant) twisting of his insides, and Harry felt the same nervous-weirdness that he had the night before.

Draco rubbed his eyes groggily as he stumbled into the kitchen. He looked around, taken aback by the sight of Andromeda busily preparing breakfast while Harry sat at the wooden dining table drinking his morning tea, "You two are up early," Draco quipped, taking a seat across from Harry at the table. Andromeda raised her wand and muttered an incantation, which sent a cup of tea floating over to him. He took it by the handle from the air and took a small sip.

"It's ten in the morning, I wouldn't exactly call that 'early'," Harry remarked.

Draco choked on his second sip of tea, "What? Jesus, I'm usually up by six!"

Harry snorted, "Well, I suppose you were rather tired then. You looked far too peaceful this morning when I woke up. I couldn't force myself to wake you up, I would've felt bad."

Andromeda wiped her brow with a wet dishrag before grabbing her cup of tea and turning around, sipping from the grey mug while she leaned against the counter lazily. Oatmeal was bubbling in a pot on the stove. "So, how do you two know each other? We didn't get to talk much last night," She said, nodding at the two of them.

"We go to Hogwarts together. Well, we went to Hogwarts together. I'm not too sure we'll be going back," Answered Draco.

"What's that supposed to mean?", Andromeda asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, now that Dumbledore has run off and left practically everyone who supports him in the dark, Hogwarts must be going to shit. Or at least, falling apart slightly. I'm not so sure if it's safe to go back, anyway, now that everyone's on the lookout for Harry and You-Know-Who is gaining power."

Andromeda hummed in agreement. She flicked her wand once more, turning the stove off and sending the hot oatmeal into glass bowls that she had previously placed on the counter. She set down her tea and began topping their breakfast with fruit and honey, while Harry and Draco sat at the table, trying to make normal conversation.

"So...how's your tea?", Harry asked awkwardly.

"Uh, normal? I mean, it's just tea."

Andromeda placed the oatmeal in front of the two of them abruptly, then sat down at the head of the table and began to eat her own.

Without warning, Harry's scar began to burn ferociously. His hand flew to his forehead, and he clutched at his scar. He doubled over, his head beneath the table, his vision going dark...he was in a large room that was dimly lit by candles. Long tables with hundreds of benches lined along them stood in four rows around the room. Young people, no older than 17, occupied said tables with fear in their eyes. A high and cold voice sounded around the room, Harry's voice.

Outside Harry's own head, he was on the floor, screaming and writhing with pain. Beads of sweat streamed down from his forehead onto the hard floor. Draco kneeled over him, a hand on his shoulder, frantically yelling and fussing over Harry. Andromeda stood with her feet apart, her mouth open wide. She was in shock, unaware of what to do.

"That scream, I heard it in the forest too, the last time this happened," Draco whispered to himself.

Harry was standing before the fearful students, his voice high and cold, "You belong to me. Your free will is no longer. Fleeing is not an option, the exits are sealed. You will only be permitted to leave these grounds if it is to do a duty for me. Try to escape you may, but die you will."

Before he knew it, Harry was tumbling back into himself, coming to. He was shaking, and wet with perspiration. He could feel a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. His throat felt raw. 

He opened his eyes and sat up at far as he could without falling back on the ground, staring up into the wide eyes of Draco Malfoy. 

"He's at Hogwarts. He's angry. The students are still there. He couldn't find me, so he's going to use them."

Andromeda gasped, "What?"

Draco looked up at Andromeda, "It's too much to explain, but this has happened before."

Harry stood up, shaking Draco off of him. 

"We need to go. If I hadn't said anything, if we hadn't left the forest, I'd be dead and this would over. It's my fault."

"CHRIST, HARRY! STOP BLAMING YOURSELF, WOULD YOU?", Draco snapped, making both Harry and Andromeda jump back a little.

"Listen, if you'd done that, not told me what you saw the first time, then we'd both be dead. A whole lot of people would be dead. He'd be ruling right now, and there would be no chance of defeating him. You did what you had to, and now we're both going to do what we need to again. We're going to fight him."

Harry looked defeated. "Draco, come with me, somewhere private. We need to talk."

Draco walked alongside Harry as he led them to a room that was a floor above where they had started. He took Draco's hand in his (stubbornly ignoring the butterflies that roared in his stomach, they were there for no reason other than to annoy him, surely) and all but shoved him into the dark, dusty room. Harry pulled the door closed and, after noticing that the only light in the room hosted a broken lightbulb, raised his wand and murmured, "Lumos."

The room was filled with the white glow that was emitted from the wand, which Harry set on the floor.

He sat down on a dirty couch that stood askew in the corner of the room and Draco joined him there.

"What do you need to tell me?"

"It's complicated, Draco. This might be a bit much all at once, but you need to know. Defeating Voldemort isn't as easy as casting some spells and building an army against him. Dumbledore didn't leave me much information at all before he left the Order, but he did leave me with this. Voldemort split his soul. He made Horcruxes. Seven of them. Dumbledore and I found one. A locket. He told me to find the Horcruxes and destroy them. We were both united on that mission. Now that he doesn't want to help me, and he's working with someone who wants to protect the Horcruxes for his own good, I'm even farther than I was before from finding the other six. I've also got no idea how I'm supposed to destroy these damn things."

Draco's eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped. He looked like a fish, his mouth open wide and searching for the right words to say. 

Harry nodded and turned his lips into a thin line. 

"You can leave if you want. Just let me do this alone. I'd understand," Harry said, nervously fidgeting with his jeans.

"Leave? Where would I go? Harry, I'm going to do this with you."

Draco reached over and took Harry's hand in his, forcing him to meet his eyes. 

"Are you sure?"

"Completely."

Harry's eyes flickered down to Draco's lips. They were compelling, like cold water on an incredibly hot day. He felt himself leaning in, felt his hand sliding up to Draco's chest...no, he couldn't. Not now. Not ever. He stood up and began to walk out of the room. Draco stood up to follow him with a grunt. 

"We need to tell Andromeda we're leaving."

"Alright. Wait, where the hell is this locket that you've already found?", Asked Draco, stopping dead in his tracks. 

"My back pocket. I've kept it on me since the day we found it. It's how I've kept it safe."

Draco nodded and began walking again. 

"Andromeda!", Harry called out as he walked down the staircase that led back onto the first floor.

He was greeted with silence. He called her name once more and still, nothing. He slowed to a stop, Draco doing the same, and listened for any signs of movement. He began to creep steadily along the hall. Then, he saw her. She was lying on the floor by the front door, her face rather pale. Draco was reminded of the times he had found Harry on the ground when they were still in the forest. A newspaper was strewn on the floor by Andromeda's hand. Harry and Draco rushed up to her. She was breathing, she was alive.

Draco rushed off to the kitchen to get cold water and a rag while Harry stayed by her with his hand in hers.

By the time Draco had returned with the water, she was coming to and confusedly staring up at Harry.

"What happened?", She asked him weakly.

"I'm not sure."

Draco placed the wet rag on her forehead and reached across her to pick up the newspaper. The front page caught his attention. 

"You must have fainted," Draco said, still staring at the newspaper.

"How do you know?", Andromeda asked quizzically. Harry's eyes settled on the newspaper as well. The big bold words were printed in black ink and rather hard to miss. 

"I can see why you would have," Harry said breathlessly.

**You-Know-Who Causes Mass Panic Among Hogwarts Students**

_Reportedly, You-Know-Who has infiltrated the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students, despite being warned otherwise, have attempted to retaliate by escaping and fighting the new guards that have been appointed by You-Know-Who himself. Students have performed Dark magic in the process, says the Ministry Of Magic. Many have been reported either missing or dead, all missing citizens and students are presumed dead unless otherwise stated._

_You-Know-Who has issued a statement saying 'Any and all wizards and witches who have found runaway students or are hiding runaway students, will be held guilty of kidnapping and sentenced to death, or life in Azkaban if I deem them worthy.'_

_The Minister of Magic warns us to take cover, or otherwise flee, and resist all efforts made by You-Know-Who and his army to persecute innocent civilians._

_Further updates will be published and announced as they come._

"We knew he was at Hogwarts...but I didn't think anyone would actually try to leave. I mean, I suppose I should have thought someone would," Harry said, taking the newspaper gently from Draco's fingertips and tossing it aside. He touched Andromeda's shoulder, feeling immensely guilty for deciding to leave and abandon her here, all alone and scared.

"Aunt Dromie, we need to go. Harry and I. We came down here to tell you before we found you, on the floor. Now that we've read the paper though, it's even more urgent. There really isn't any time to explain-"

"I'm coming with you. You're crazy if you think I'm letting you two go alone! You'll die! I know how to fight, and I can defend you two."

"Andromeda, you don't even know why we need to go or where we're going, it just isn't safe for you to come totally unprepared," Harry said, staring at Draco tensely. 

Andromeda stood up and set her hand on her hip, "I don't care. You can explain it to me on the way. I'm coming with you. Now, do both of you have your wands?"

Draco stared at Harry looking utterly defeated. 

"Listen, we really can't let you come," Started Harry before he realized just how hard she was staring at him and he caved.

Andromeda smiled, "Now, the question still stands, do you both have your wands?"

"I haven't. Harry's got his, though."

"One second, then. I'll be back," With that, she bustled out of the room and down several hallways and through several doorways. Harry and Draco could hear cupboards being opened and closed and furniture being pushed out of the way. She apparated back in front of them with a loud crack, proudly holding an oak wand in her right fist. She handed it to Draco with a grin and said, "I stole that from the death eater who dared take my husband away from me. If he wants my husband, I'll have his only form of defense since he's probably useless otherwise."

Draco stared at his aunt in a mixture of awe and amusement for a moment before Harry announced, rather loudly, "Well, I suppose we should get going then."

"Oh, fine, I'll get it since you're all incapable of opening the door!", Hermione called through the burrow, glaring at Ron, who sat on the couch with a lopsided smile, playing Go Fish with Fred and George.

She walked over to the door and wrenched it open. Her eyes widened and her face was overcome with a smile as she shrieked, "Harry!", drawing the attention of the others occupying the burrow. Harry was overcome with the same happiness that filled Hermione. He had been immensely worried that nobody would answer the door. That she and Ron had gotten caught by the Death Eaters, or worse, and that they would be-no, he wouldn't think about that, he was going to focus on the reality right now, not the what-ifs.

Ron dropped his cards to the living room floor and rushed over to the doorway, nearly tripping over himself twice in the process, with Fred and George following close behind him. They all wore smiles identical to Hermione's, who let go of Harry and stared oddly at Andromeda and Draco. Draco suddenly felt very awkward, standing there in front of four people that still hated him, accompanying their friend who also used to hate him. 

"Oh my god! Harry! Come in, hurry up! Don't just stand there!"

The three of them bustled into the house, Andromeda and Draco now receiving strange looks from more than just Hermione, and made their way to the couch in the living room.

"Mum!", George called up the tall, spiral staircase, "Harry's here!"

Molly peered down, staring at her son skeptically.

"No he is not, George, Don't mess with me right now, I'm busy."

"No, mum, really he is!"

As Molly began to walk away, Harry strode over to the stairs and stared up them, waving at Molly with a smile. She all but flew down the stairs, shrieking just as Hermione had. This alerted Ginny, who came out of her room and repeated her mother's actions. The two of them ran up to Harry and hugged him with so much force that he fell over and had to be yanked up off the floor by Mrs.Weasley. 

Harry looked around at the lot of them happily, "So, how did all of you get away? I thought Hogwarts was being highly monitored and guarded right now."

"It is", Hermione responded sadly, "Molly pulled Ron and everyone else from school after Dumbledore caved originally. I snuck onto the train with him and sent my parents an owl, explaining to them what had happened. At the time, the rules and security hadn't grown nearly as strict. We've been staying here since and haven't really left the burrow much."

Ginny's eyes floated over to Draco, who she scowled at as she noticed that he was there for the first time since he, Harry, and Andromeda had arrived. She charged over to him, shoving her pointer finger into the middle of his chest angrily.

"Why the fuck are you here?"

"Ginevra, language!", Molly scolded.

Harry turned to Ginny, "He's with me. So is Andromeda, the woman sitting by him. We're on a mission together."

"Why the hell are you pairing up with this git?"

"Language!", Fred yelled before his mother could.

Ginny turned on her heel to face Fred, "Oh, don't act as if you weren't thinking the same thing."

He grinned at her and turned to Draco, "So, what's this mission?", he asked eagerly.

Draco stared at Harry with wide eyes, "Am I allowed to say?"

"I'd rather you didn't. Although, I would appreciate it if you and Andromeda could come and tell Ron and Hermione with me."

Andromeda nodded and grabbed Draco's hand. She pulled him to his feet from the couch and the two of them walked over to Harry. She gestured for Ron and Hermione to follow her and they did. All five of them walked outside and into the garden, where Ron raised an eyebrow at Harry and asked, "What the hell is going on, mate?"

Hermione wrapped her arm around his and shot Harry the same look that he was being served by Ron.

"There isn't much time to explain, but I'll try to make sure you understand. Dumbledore abandoned us, I'm sure you know that, but he left me with hardly any information as to how I'm supposed to defeat Vold-"

"Don't say his name, Harry!", Ron exclaimed, wincing.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Fine, You-Know-Who. Anyway, the only thing he really left me with is that I need to find his Horcruxes. They need to be destroyed, or You-Know-Who can't die, and he can never be defeated. So, I told Draco this, and then I told Andromeda, and now we're trying to find and figure out how to destroy them together. You two can come along if you want, that's why I pulled you out here. I already have one, which Dumbledore gave me. The locket."

Hermione stared at Harry blankly, and Ron's eyes appeared glassy and zoned out.

"Horcruxes? Multiple. How many are there?"

"Seven."

"That's impossible. His soul is practically nonexistent, then, if it's so torn up."

"It's not impossible, its You-Know-Who. He'd do something like this any day. I'm not exactly surprised that there are so many."

Ron blinked and stared at Draco, "So, why are you with Harry on this mission. I mean, what happened that got you two all buddy-buddy?"

Harry couldn't help but notice a hint of jealousy hidden underneath his feigned calm tone.

"Soon after Dumbledore went to the other side, Harry was attacked by Death Eaters at the school and I got caught up in it with him. I ended up fighting for him since I couldn't sit there and just watch him be attacked. I certainly didn't want him to die. I ended up apparating us to the first place I could think of, and we wound up in some fucking cold, wet forest. We stayed there for a bit before Harry's scar started to hurt and he saw that Vol-"

"Watch it!"

"Okay, Weasley, Jesus. Anyway, we found out that he knew where we were, or at least the general area, so I apparated us again, to the Manor. My parents don't live there anymore, they freaked out and ran off to fucking who-knows-where, and it still has all of the protective charms up. When we went inside, we found out that Andromeda, my aunt"-he gestured to her and she smiled at them, waving kindly-"had been staying there, hiding as well. We came here together because Harry wanted to make sure the two of you were okay, and ask if you wanted to help us with all of this."

Ron and Hermione still seemed slightly lost and shocked, but they understood what was being said better this time, now that they were both a little calmer because the initial shock had begun to wear off. 

"Alright, then. Well if you fought for Harry, and he trusts you, I'll go. Although, if Hermione doesn't want to, I don't think I can just leave her here, so really, it's either both of us or neither of us," Ron looked at his girlfriend briefly and looked at her pleadingly. She sighed and stared at him, chewing her bottom lip. 

"Please, we have to," He whispered to her, though Harry heard perfectly well, and she took in a deep breath.

"Alright, we'll go. Let us get our bags. By the way, Harry, your trunk is here, if you want it. Ron and I took it with us when we left school and noticed you were gone."

"So, where are we off to now?", Andromeda asked. The five of them had left the house, their bags floating via magic, yet they still had no set direction. 

"I'm not sure, Andromeda."

She giggled, covering her mouth with her palm, "You don't have to be so formal. Just call me Andi."

"Alright, you're Andi then," Harry replied, still trudging on up the hill they were climbing. 

"We really should find out where the hell we're going, Harry," Ron reminded him. 

Harry pulled the locket from his back pocket and fiddled with it, "Let's find a place to hide. That will be much safer than staying out in the open. We could go back to the forest Draco and I had been in. That might work." 

Draco pulled all of them in and they all touched him with some part of their body, before he apparated the group into the forest, focusing his hardest on a safe, dry place. They wound up in a patch of grass, leaves, and trees that was nearly identical to the clearing that he and Harry had occupied.

"Harry, you can't just go messing around with the Horcrux. It's dangerous," Hermione scolded.

Harry squirmed somewhat uncomfortably but stuffed it back into his pocket nevertheless, "Well, it's the only one we've found yet, I just want to make sure I still have it and it's safe, is all."

Hermione stared at him for a second, "Harry, you keep saying we've only found one, but we've actually found two. The diary, Riddle's diary, in the Chamber of Secrets. That was a Horcrux. You destroyed it, remember?"

Harry's face fell slightly, "Oh, yeah. That was a Horcrux, wasn't it? I try not to think about that much, it was rather traumatic. Well, either way, we've still only gotten rid of one out of seven. We've got five more to find. I just wish we knew how to destroy all of them, I mean, I've tried stomping on this thing and incinerating it and even biting at it, but it won't budge."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "It's obvious, isn't it? It's how you destroyed the book, with basilisk venom. That's got to be it."

"Wow, good call, Hermione, let's just go find some basilisk venom from bloody Diagon Alley and everything will be normal again," Ron retorted. 

Draco's mouth widened, "Actually, that's quite smart. Hermione, you're brilliant. Oh, and Weasel, you're a git."

Harry spun around to face Draco and playfully placed his index finger over his lips to shush him, "Oh, so you'll call her Hermione, but you still can't call him Ron?"

Harry looked into Draco's eyes, trying desperately to not melt into them (Draco was doing the same, his eyes were rather wide at the moment and his face also felt rather flushed. His heart was pumping in his chest at an abnormal rate), and fought off the weird feeling that overtook him just as it had several times before. He suddenly realized that he was leaning in involuntarily, and yanked away his finger as though he was burned. Andromeda snorted, but quickly stifled it and began to rummage through Hermione's seemingly endless bag with her. 

Ron mumbled, "Oh, so you guys are like _that_ now, that would explain a lot."

"Oh shut up, Weasel, it isn't like that. Jesus, you're disgusting."

Harry felt blood rush to his cheeks. His heart felt like it had been stabbed by a million daggers, but it didn't matter, because Draco was right. They weren't like that and he definitely didn't wish they were. Draco felt the same, Harry was sure of it. 

"Oh! Thanks, Andi! You've found it!", Hermione exclaimed, ending the conversation between the boys, whos' heads turned to her in unison. 

She was holding a tent, the metal poles lay on the ground.

"What? We needed a tent, and I've had this one in here since last year," She said, as if keeping a tent in one's purse was perfectly normal.

"How...the fuck? In a purse...it's a...Merlin," Draco mumbled to himself. 

The tent magically assembled itself with a flick of Hermione's wand. She looked rather pleased with herself. She pointed the wand at the tent again and uttered an enlargement charm, "That should do. Now it's bigger on the inside, we'll all fit."

"Shouldn't we do some protection charms? And disillusionment?", Andromeda reminded her kindly.

"Oh, yes. Here, Draco, you're good at charms and I think we'll need to use the same ones that are protecting your manor. Could you be a dear and walk in a circle, doing the charms for us?", she thrust her wand into his porcelain pale palm rather forcefully and flashed him a smile. This was clearly not a question, it was an order, so Draco willingly obeyed, not because he wanted to, but because Hermione was quite scary when she needed to be. 

That night, after everything had been set up for the group's comfort, they all decided to lay down and try and catch some sleep. It had gone quite unsaid that they would have a long day awaiting them. It had been decided that Ron and Hermione would sleep in the same 'bed' (a pile of stray pillows and blankets) since they were a couple and that Andromeda would have her own area to sleep since she was the oldest of the group. This left one sleeping area, which Harry and Draco were forced to share.

"I am absolutely not sleeping next to Harry."

"You call him Harry now? I thought it was Potter?", Ron quipped, amused. Draco blushed.

"Well, things can change, Weasel."

"It won't be that bad, Draco. You've tended to my injuries in a forest and bonded with me over shared trauma. Sleeping next to each other is nothing," Harry said, carelessly. He didn't realize the weight of what he had said until he noticed the surprised looks he was receiving from everyone but Draco, who was shooting him a death glare. If looks could kill, Harry would be six feet deep. 

"Well, I don't see why the fuck you felt the need to announce that, but I suppose I will stop complaining," Draco grumbled. He stormed off to the bedroom, throwing back the curtain that covered it. It definitely wasn't a door, but it provided a sense of privacy to the user. Harry cringed. 

"Well, uh, I should go to bed. 'Night, guys."

He entered the room behind Draco. Everyone else went to their respective areas as well, each closing their own curtains. Draco had his shirt halfway removed when Harry wandered in. 

"God, Potter. Don't stare. Just get dressed, Merlin," Draco snapped, still frustrated. He tossed his shirt onto the floor and flopped onto the bed that Hermione had thrown together in their corner of the surprisingly large tent. 

"I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to say that, I wasn't thinking."

"I just don't see why you had to say anything at all."

"I don't see why it's so terrible to sleep in the same vicinity as me. I mean, for me, it feels like you think we haven't gotten closer at all. I mean, for god's sake, we've already slept in the same bed. At the manor, you didn't seem very uncomfortable there."

Draco huffed and stared up at the ceiling. A million thoughts were racing through his mind at the moment. 

Harry sighed and changed into his pajamas. He threw himself down next to Draco. He took Draco's hand in his and closed his eyes. There he lay, taking in the wonderful, comforting feeling of Draco's skin pressed against his.

"Harry, it's just that this...whatever we are, whatever this is. It isn't normal for me. I like it, believe me, I do. It's just, your friends. They still hate me and I know they don't trust me. I really don't have a problem with sleeping next to you, and I don't have a problem being even closer than that. I have a problem with your friends knowing how I feel and hating me even more for it. I know you trust them and I don't want them to say something about me that drives you away."

Harry sat there for a beat of silence. Draco's heart was pounding. 

"Nothing is going to drive me away from you. If they want to say something, let them. You mean so much more to me now."

Draco was about to speak again when his ability to speak was suddenly stripped away by Harry kissing him. He cupped his face in his palms and pressed his lips against his. It was a hungry and bold action. It took Draco's breath away. He didn't want to push Harry away from him, he wanted to get even closer and stay in this for as long as he possibly could. This felt like everything he'd ever wanted. Everything he'd ever needed. He felt as though he would never be hungry again, or thirty, or tired, because this was keeping him alive and fulfilling every need within his physical being.

Harry slowly let go of his hand, and pulled his lips away, to Draco's dismay. He looked at him with puppy dog eyes, which made Harry melt internally.

"We should get some sleep."

Draco frowned, "Why?"

"It's late. We'll both regret it in the morning if we don't now."

Draco nodded with a heavy sigh. He turned onto his side, facing Harry and began to drift off. Harry did the same. Everything felt good, and Draco had a sense of safety and love like he had when they had slept together in his old bedroom. Harry brought out everything inside of him that he'd never wanted to let out, and it felt amazing. 

"Good morning, sleepyheads. Jesus, you two never seem to wake up early," Andromeda said gently, standing over Draco and Harry with her familiar grin. The two were entangled around one another, and all blankets had fallen off them, to be scattered around their sleeping bodies. 

Draco breathed in deeply and rubbed at his eyes as he sat up and smacked Harry in the arm to wake him up. 

"Merlin, love, you don't need to hit me," Harry mumbled sleepily, barely audible. Draco's face became redder than it had ever done before when he heard Harry call him the pet name, even if he was half asleep. Andromeda smiled ear to ear and looked between Harry and Draco.

"I saw it coming."

"What is that meant to mean?", Draco asked of his aunt, standing up as much as he could without his head grazing the roof. 

"Well, you've slept in the same bed twice now, or at least close enough to be touching. I saw you two cuddling. You're overall adorable together, and you've clearly fallen head over heels, Draco."

Harry cleared his throat, fully waking up at this, "No, seriously, Andi. It isn't like-"

"No, really. Don't try and deny it now. You two are so obvious, yet so oblivious. It's sad."

With that, she walked away, leaving Harry and Draco staring at the spot where she had been standing previously, then at each other, then back at the now empty spot. 

"Harry, do you think she might be right?"

"About what?"

"That we at least act like we're...more than friends?"

"Well, after last night, yes."

Draco ran his hand down his face, "Why the hell did you kiss me?", he whispered.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it? I told you, I care about you far more than I probably should. I've explained that a million times. It just felt right."

"It felt right for me too. I liked it. It was nice."

Harry grinned and checked to make sure the curtain was shut before he pecked Draco on the lips. It felt just as good as the night before, and just as sweet, though far more tender and less bold. 

"Harry, I'm not completely sure why we're doing this, but I really do enjoy it and I don't want it to stop. Ever."

"Me too, Draco. Now, let's get up. We've got some ass to kick today."

He took Draco by the hand and pulled him out from their bedroom, eager to start the day with a newfound reason to fight and keep going. 

The End

Please comment if you find any errors, I will fix them (this was sort of rushed, sorry) and let me know if you want a part two where I continue Harry and Draco's budding relationship and continue the storyline of our group searching for Horcruxes and generally being badasses.


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